For now, Nevada's new regulations for auto-cars are just tweaked versions of the usual driving laws. The new legislation is for companies that want to test self-driving cars, not citizenry who want to hop into their own robot cars. In the future, when the testing phase is over, driving laws will need more radical rethinking.

The article goes on to note:

(F)or the next two generations of the technology, autonomous cars will still need someone behind the wheel who's "at least somewhat attentive."

This would be a tremendous improvement over the state of things today, when roughly two-thirds of people behind the wheel are "not at all attentive," unless you count the attention they're giving their wireless devices.

Still. Our streets and roads are crazy enough as it is. Driving laws -- and even matters of etiquette -- will indeed need some "radical rethinking" when and if driverless cars join the fray.

As runners, we have more skin in this game than most. Literally. With that in mind, here are a few of the questions that this runner has:

Will driverless cars be smart enough to look right when they're making a right-hand turn at a stop sign or red light? Because that's something that driverful cars don't currently do.

Will driverless cars suddenly stop where they clearly have the right of way, and frantically urge you, the runner, to cross the street in front of them, creating uncertainty and agita among the cars around them and essentially putting you in an awkward, dangerous situation? Because that's something that driverful cars do, and it drives me bananas.

Given the contempt that certain motorists have for runners, isn't it just a matter of time before certain driverless cars are programmed to reflect their owners' hostility...?

If I go running in a robot costume, will it freak out any driverless cars I encounter? I.e., Will they do a sort of double-take? Will they give me a friendly little honk, similar to the way that Harley owners wave or nod at each other when they pass?

If -- heaven forbid -- a driverless car hits a runner jogger, who's at fault? Google? Would a driverless ambulance appear and wait for the victim to crawl inside?

If four driverless cars roll up to a four-way stop at precisely the same moment, what happens? (This isn't a running-related question, but still.)

Could a runner conceivably "send" his own car 10 or 20 miles away on a Sunday morning; run to wherever it's parked; and then drive it home? If so: Awesome!

Aren't we running a risk here that these "robot cars" will eventually achieve consciousness and rise up against us, refusing to drive us anywhere but the auto parts store and Jiffy Lube? (Again, not a running question, but you have to wonder.)

In sum, from a runner's perspective, I think driverless cars are a wash. They can't possibly be more dangerous than today's cars. Or can they?

In a world full of driverless cars, maybe I'd play it safe and stick to treadmills. They haven't achieved consciousness and risen up against us.